Electronic systems typically use switches for routing electrical signals. Categories of switches include semiconductor-based switches and microelectromechanical system (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) switches.
Semiconductor-based switches generally include a semiconductor channel that isolates one side of the switch from the other. To overcome this isolation, a sufficiently high voltage is applied across the semiconductor channel. Semiconductor switches may suffer from high sub-threshold power consumption. This means that power may be dissipated across the switch even though it is off, i.e., the voltage across the switch is below the threshold voltage level necessary to turn the switch on. This is because the semiconductor channel is always present, physically linking both sides of the switch.
One common type of MEMS or NEMS switch includes piezoelectric switches. Piezoelectric switches generally include an air gap that electrically isolates one side of the switch from the other. To actuate a piezoelectric switch, a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric material of the switch, which causes the material to contort in shape, thereby closing the air gap.
There is an ever-present desire for improved switches.